1940 in film

Template:Short description Template:Year nav topic5 Template:Yearsinfilm Template:Refimprove The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney films Pinocchio and Fantasia.

Events

January 26 – RKO emerges from bankruptcy with assets transferred to a new company.
February 7 – Walt Disney's second animated feature film Pinocchio premieres at the Center Theatre in New York City. Although not a box office success upon its initial release (due to being cut off from international markets due to World War II), the film receives critical acclaim and wins two Academy Awards, including one for Best Original Song for "When You Wish Upon a Star". Through a reissue after the war, Pinocchio becomes profitable and gains a cult following; eventually, it is considered one of the greatest films of all time.
February 10 – Tom and Jerry make their debut in the animated cartoon Puss Gets the Boot. The characters are initially known as "Jasper and Jinx" for this cartoon only.
April 12 – Alfred Hitchcock's first American film Rebecca is released, under the production of David O. Selznick. It would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
May – A reproduction of "America's First Movie Studio", Thomas Edison's Black Maria, is constructed.
July 27 – Bugs Bunny makes his official debut in the animated cartoon A Wild Hare.
October 15 – Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator, a satirical comedy starring him, premieres in New York City. It is a critical and commercial success and goes on to become Chaplin's most financially successful film.
November 13 – World premiere of Walt Disney's animated film Fantasia at the Broadway Theatre in New York City, the first film to be released in a multi-channel sound format (see Fantasound). The film also marks the first use of the click track while recording the soundtrack, overdubbing of orchestral parts, simultaneous multitrack recording and is cited as a key chapter in the conception and development of the multi-channel surround system. The film is a bigger box office failure for Disney than Pinocchio was, though it recoups its cost years later and becomes one of the most highly regarded of Disney's films.
November 20 – Consent Decree approved by Judge Henry W. Goddard to end block booking by the Big Five studios
November 25 – Woody Woodpecker makes his debut in the Andy Panda cartoon Knock Knock.
December 5 – Release of one of Alexander Korda's most successful films, The Thief of Bagdad, pioneering the use of chroma key effects.^[1]
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Film Unit supersedes the GPO Film Unit in the production of documentary films.

Academy Awards

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Best Picture: Rebecca – David O. Selznick, United Artists
Best Director: John Ford – The Grapes of Wrath
Best Actor: James Stewart – The Philadelphia Story
Best Actress: Ginger Rogers – Kitty Foyle
Best Supporting Actor: Walter Brennan – The Westerner
Best Supporting Actress: Jane Darwell – The Grapes of Wrath

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1940 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1940
Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	Boom Town	MGM	$3,664,000^[2]
2	The Great Dictator	United Artists	$3,500,000^[3]
3	Rebecca	United Artists/Selznick International	$3,000,000^[4]
4	North West Mounted Police	Paramount	$2,750,000^[5]
5	Strike Up the Band	MGM	$2,265,000^[2]
6	Northwest Passage		$2,169,000^[2]
7	Andy Hardy Meets Debutante		$1,945,000^[2]
8	The Fighting 69th	Warner Bros.	$1,822,000^[6]
9	Santa Fe Trail	Warner Bros.	$1,748,000^[6]
10	Kitty Foyle	RKO	$1,710,000^[7]^[8]

Films by country/region

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Notable films

Films produced in the United States unless stated otherwise

J

June Night (Juninatten), directed by Per Lindberg, starring Ingrid Bergman – (Sweden)

K

The King of the White Elephant (Phra Chao Chang Phueak), directed by Sunh Vasudhara – (Thailand)
Kitty Foyle, directed by Sam Wood, starring Ginger Rogers

L

Laddie, directed by Jack Hively, starring Tim Holt
Lady with Red Hair, directed by Curtis Bernhardt, starring Miriam Hopkins and Claude Rains
The Letter, directed by William Wyler, starring Bette Davis and Herbert Marshall
Lillian Russell, directed by Irving Cummings, starring Alice Faye, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda and Edward Arnold
Little Men, directed by Norman Z. McLeod, starring Kay Francis, Jack Oakie and George Bancroft
The Long Voyage Home, directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne and Thomas Mitchell

M

The Mark of Zorro, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell and Basil Rathbone
The Mortal Storm, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Robert Young and Frank Morgan
The Mummy's Hand, directed by Christy Cabanne, starring Dick Foran
My Favorite Wife, directed by Garson Kanin, starring Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Randolph Scott and Gail Patrick
My Little Chickadee, directed by Edward F. Cline, starring Mae West and W. C. Fields

N

New Moon, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy
Night Train to Munich, directed by Carol Reed, starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison – (GB)
North West Mounted Police, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Gary Cooper, Madeleine Carroll and Paulette Goddard
Northwest Passage, directed by King Vidor, starring Spencer Tracy and Robert Young

O

One Million B.C., directed by Hal Roach and Hal Roach Jr., starring Victor Mature, Carole Landis and Lon Chaney Jr.
One Night in the Tropics, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, starring Abbott and Costello
Our Town, directed by Sam Wood, starring William Holden and Martha Scott

P

The Philadelphia Story, directed by George Cukor, starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart
Pinocchio, Disney Classic directed by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, starring Dickie Jones and Cliff Edwards
Pride and Prejudice, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier
Primrose Path, directed by Gregory La Cava, starring Ginger Rogers and Joel McCrea
The Proud Valley, directed by Pen Tennyson, starring Paul Robeson – (GB)

R

Rebecca, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier
Remember the Night, directed by Mitchell Leisen, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray
Rhythm on the River, directed by Victor Schertzinger, starring Bing Crosby, Mary Martin and Basil Rathbone
Road to Singapore, directed by Victor Schertzinger, starring Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope

S

Saps at Sea, directed by Gordon Douglas, starring Laurel and Hardy
The Sea Hawk, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Errol Flynn and Claude Rains
Seven Sinners, directed by Tay Garnett, starring Marlene Dietrich and John Wayne
The Shop Around the Corner, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart
The Siege of the Alcazar (L'Assedio dell'Alcazar), directed by Augusto Genina – (Italy)
Son of Ingagi, directed by Richard Kahn
The Son of Monte Cristo, directed by Rowland V. Lee, starring Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett and George Sanders
The Stars Look Down, directed by Carol Reed, starring Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood – (GB)
Strange Cargo, directed by Frank Borzage, starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford
Stranger on the Third Floor, directed by Boris Ingster, starring Peter Lorre
Strike Up the Band, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland
Swiss Family Robinson, directed by Edward Ludwig, starring Thomas Mitchell and Edna Best

T

They Drive by Night, directed by Raoul Walsh, starring George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart
They Knew What They Wanted, directed by Garson Kanin, starring Carole Lombard and Charles Laughton
The Thief of Bagdad, directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger and Tim Whelan, starring Conrad Veidt and Sabu – (GB)
'Til We Meet Again, directed by Edmund Goulding and Anatole Litvak, starring Merle Oberon and George Brent
Tom Brown's School Days, directed by Robert Stevenson, starring Cedric Hardwicke and Freddie Bartholomew
Too Many Girls, directed by George Abbott, starring Lucille Ball
Too Many Husbands, directed by Wesley Ruggles, starring Jean Arthur, Fred MacMurray and Melvyn Douglas
Torrid Zone, directed by William Keighley, starring James Cagney, Ann Sheridan and Pat O'Brien
Turnabout, directed by Hal Roach, starring Adolphe Menjou, Carole Landis and John Hubbard

V

Vasilisa the Beautiful (Vasilisa prekrasnaya), directed by Alexander Rou – (USSR)
Vigil in the Night, directed by George Stevens, starring Carole Lombard
Virginia City, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Errol Flynn, Miriam Hopkins, Randolph Scott and Humphrey Bogart

W

Waterloo Bridge, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor
The Well-Digger's Daughter (La Fille du puisatier), directed by Marcel Pagnol, starring Raimu and Fernandel – (France)
The Westerner, directed by William Wyler, starring Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan and Dana Andrews
Where's That Fire?, directed by Marcel Varnel, starring Will Hay – (GB)

Y

Young People, directed by Allan Dwan, starring Shirley Temple and Jack Oakie
Young Tom Edison, directed by Norman Taurog, starring Mickey Rooney
You're Missing the Point (Ahí está el detalle), directed by Juan Bustillo Oro, starring Cantinflas – (Mexico)

1940 film releases

United States unless stated

January–March

January 1940
- 26 January
  - The Fighting 69th
February 1940
- 23 February
  - Pinocchio

April–June

April 1940
- 12 April
  - Rebecca
- 20 April
  - 'Til We Meet Again
May 1940
- 17 May
  - My Favorite Wife

July–September

August 1940
- 30 August
  - Boom Town
September 1940
- 20 September
  - The Mummy's Hand

October–December

October 1940
- 15 October
  - The Great Dictator
November 1940
- 6 November
  - North West Mounted Police
- 13 November
  - Fantasia
December 1940
- 13 December
  - Santa Fe Trail
- 27 December
  - Kitty Foyle

Serials

Adventures of Red Ryder, directed by William Witney and John English
Deadwood Dick, directed by James W. Horne
Drums of Fu Manchu, starring Henry Brandon and Robert Kellard, directed by William Witney and John English
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe, starring Buster Crabbe
The Green Archer, starring Victor Jory, directed by James W. Horne
The Green Hornet, starring Warren Hull
Junior G-Men, starring the Dead End Kids
King of the Royal Mounted starring Allan Lane, directed by William Witney and John English
Mysterious Doctor Satan, starring Eduardo Ciannelli, directed by William Witney and John English
The Shadow, starring Victor Jory, directed by James W. Horne
Terry and the Pirates, starring William Tracy, directed by James W. Horne
Winners of the West, starring Dick Foran and Anne Nagel

Short film series

Animated short film series

Krazy Kat (1925–1940)
Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
Terrytoons (1930–1964)
Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
Scrappy (1931–1941)
Popeye (1933–1957)
Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
Donald Duck (1937–1956)
Pluto (1937–1951)
Walter Lantz Cartunes (also known as New Universal Cartoons or Cartune Comedies) (1938–1942)
Goofy (1939–1955)
Andy Panda (1939–1949)
- Knock Knock! (first appearance of Woody Woodpecker)
Tom and Jerry (1940–1958)
- Puss Gets the Boot

Births

January 3 – Thelma Schoonmaker, American editor
January 19 - Mike Reid, English comedian and actor (died 2007)
January 20 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor (died 2022)
January 22 – John Hurt, English actor (died 2017)^[10]
January 25 – Paolo Graziosi, Italian actor (died 2022)
January 27
- James Cromwell, American actor
- Reynaldo Rey, American actor, comedian and television personality (died 2015)
January 29 – Katharine Ross, American actress
January 31 – Stuart Margolin, American actor and director (died 2022)
February 2 - David Jason, British actor
February 4
- George A. Romero, American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2017)^[11]
- John Schuck, American actor
February 5 – Dick Warlock, American actor and stuntman
February 6 - Jim Haynie, American actor (died 2021)
February 11 – John Fink, American actor
February 12 – Ralph Bates, English actor (died 1991)
February 17
- Matija Barl, Slovenian actor, producer and translator (died 2018)
- Jo Kendall, British actress (died 2022)
February 19 – Carlin Glynn, American singer and actress (died 2023)
February 23 – Peter Fonda, American actor (died 2019)
February 27
- Howard Hesseman, American actor (died 2022)
- Bill Hunter, Australian actor (died 2011)
February 29 – Harvey Jason, English actor
March 3 – Patricia Gage, Scottish actress (died 2010)
March 7 – Daniel J. Travanti, American actor
March 9 – Raul Julia, Puerto Rican actor (died 1994)
March 10 – Chuck Norris, American actor and martial artist (died 2026)
March 11 – William Callaway, American retired voice actor
March 22 - Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-American actor (died 1996)
March 26 – James Caan, American actor (died 2022)
March 27 – Austin Pendleton, American actor, playwright, theatre director and instructor
April 1 – Aliza Gur, Israeli actress
April 3 – Wolf Kahler, German actor
April 5 - Gianfranco Barra, Italian actor (died 2025)
April 6 – Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Mexican actor (died 2011)
April 14 – Julie Christie, British actress
April 15 – Julie Sommars, American actress
April 17 – Billy Fury, English singer and actor (died 1983)
April 20 – James Gammon, American actor (died 2010)
April 21 – George DiCenzo, American character actor (died 2010)
April 24 – Michael Parks, American actor and singer (died 2017)
April 25 – Al Pacino, American actor
April 29 – Max Cullen, Australian actor
April 30 – Burt Young, American actor (died 2023)
May 2 – Jo Ann Pflug, American actress
May 5 – Lance Henriksen, American actor
May 7 – John Irvin, English director
May 8 – Emilio Delgado, Mexican-American actor, voice artist and singer (died 2022)^[12]
May 9 - James L. Brooks, American director, producer and screenwriter
May 15 – Lainie Kazan, American actress and singer
May 17
- Valie Export, Austrian director
- Peter Gerety, American actor
May 25 - Deanna Dunagan, American actress
May 26 - Levon Helm, American musician and actor (died 2012)
May 28 – Josie Lloyd, American actress and director (died 2020)
June 1 – René Auberjonois, American actor (died 2019)
June 2 – Maree Cheatham, American actress
June 7
- Tom Jones, Welsh singer and actor
- Ronald Pickup, English actor (died 2021)
June 8 – Nancy Sinatra, American singer and actress
June 20 – John Mahoney, English-born American actor (died 2018)^[13]
June 21 – Mariette Hartley, American actress
June 22 – Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian director (died 2016)
June 23 – Adam Faith, English actor and singer (died 2003)
June 26 – Luis Valdez, American playwright, screenwriter, director and actor
July 4 – Karolyn Grimes, American actress
July 7 – Ringo Starr, English drummer (The Beatles)
July 13 – Patrick Stewart, English actor
July 18 – James Brolin, American actor
July 22 – Alex Trebek, Canadian-American game show host and television personality (died 2020)
July 24 – Dan Hedaya, American actor
July 28 – Phil Proctor, American actor, voice actor and member of the Firesign Theatre
July 30 – Nicolau Breyner, Portuguese actor (died 2016)
July 31 - Stanley R. Jaffe, American producer (died 2025)
August 3 – Martin Sheen, American actor
August 6 - Louise Sorel, American actress
August 15
- Maria Grazia Buccella, Italian actress
- Ze'ev Revach, Israeli comedian, actor and director
August 16 - Bruce Beresford, Australian director, screenwriter and producer
August 19
- Jill St. John, American actress
- Lou Wagner, American actorTemplate:Cn
August 23 – Tony Bill, American actor, producer and director
August 25 – Wilhelm von Homburg, German boxer, actor and professional wrestler (died 2004)
August 26 – Don LaFontaine, American voice actor (died 2008)
August 27 – Sonny Sharrock, American jazz guitarist (died 1994)
August 31
- Larry Hankin, American character actor, performer, director, comedian and producer.
- Jack Thompson, Australian actor
September 2 – Harry Northup, American actor
September 3 – Pauline Collins, British actress
September 5 – Raquel Welch, American actress (died 2023)
September 7 – Dario Argento, Italian director, producer and screenwriter
September 11 – Brian De Palma, American director, producer and screenwriter
September 12 – Linda Gray, American actress, director and producer
September 18 – Frankie Avalon, American actor and singer
September 19
- Karin Baal, German actress (died 2024)
- Caroline John, English actress (died 2012)
- Paul Williams, American actor and singer
September 20 – Jonathan Hardy, New Zealand-Australian actor, writer and director (died 2012)
September 21 – Bill Kurtis, American producer and narrator
September 22 – Anna Karina, Danish-born French actress, director and singer (died 2019)
September 25 – Roberto Del Giudice, Italian voice actor (died 2007)
October 9 – John Lennon, English singer-songwriter and musician (The Beatles) (shot to death 1980)
October 14 – Cliff Richard, English singer and actor
October 16 – Barry Corbin, American actor
October 19 – Michael Gambon, Irish-English actor (died 2023)
October 25 – Jimmy Herman, Indigenous-Canadian actor (died 2013)
October 26 – Tilo Prückner, German actor (died 2020)
October 28 – Nic de Jager, South African actor
October 29 – Jack Shepherd, English actor (died 2025)
November 2 – Gigi Proietti, Italian actor (died 2020)
November 4 – Manuel Ojeda, Mexican actor (died 2022)
November 5 – Elke Sommer, German actress
November 7 – Dakin Matthews, American actor
November 13 – Rudolf Schwarzkogler, Austrian experimental filmmaker (died 1969)
November 14 – Bill Bolender, American character actor
November 15 – Sam Waterston, American actor
November 20 – Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director (died 2014)
November 22 – Terry Gilliam, American-born British screenwriter, director and animator (Monty Python's Flying Circus)
November 27 – Bruce Lee, Chinese-American martial artist and actor (died 1973)
December 1 – Richard Pryor, American comedian and actor (died 2005)
December 11 – Donna Mills, American actress
December 13
- Volli Käro, Estonian actor
- Carol Locatell, American actress (died 2023)
December 24
- Janet Carroll, American character actress (died 2012)
- Sharon Farrell, American actress (died 2023)
December 28 – Don Francisco, Chilean television host
December 31 – Tim Considine, American actor and writer (died 2022)

Deaths

January 4 – Flora Finch, 72, American actress, A Cure for Pokeritis, The Cat and the Canary, Quality Street^[14]
January 22 – E. Alyn Warren, 65, American actor, The Mysterious Mr. Wong, Get That Man, Revolt of the Zombies, Port of Seven Seas
February 20 – George Periolat, 66, American actor, The Mark of Zorro, One Rainy Afternoon, Morning Glory, What Price Hollywood?
March 5 – Maxine Elliott, 66, American actress, Fighting Odds
April 9 – Mrs. Patrick Campbell, 75, English actress, Riptide, One More River
April 11 – Hemmo Kallio, 77, Finnish actor, Anna Liisa
May 25 – Joe De Grasse, 67, Canadian-born American film director, Heart o' the Hills, The Scarlet Car, The Girl of the Night
May 28 - Walter Connolly, 53, American actor, It Happened One Night
July 1 – Ben Turpin, 70, American actor, Saps at Sea, Mr. Flip, A Clever Dummy
July 15 – Donald Calthrop, 52, English actor, Scrooge, Blackmail, Murder!, Major Barbara
September 25 – Marguerite Clark, 57, American actress, Scrambled Wives, Easy to Get, All of a Sudden Peggy, A Girl Named Mary
October 10 – Berton Churchill, 63, Canadian actor, Stagecoach, I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, In Old Chicago, Heroes for Sale
October 12 – Tom Mix, 60, American actor, The Miracle Rider, Riders of the Purple Sage, Sky High
December 13 – Wilfred Lucas, 69, Canadian-born American actor, screenwriter, director, Modern Times, A Chump at Oxford, The Girl and Her Trust

Debuts

Herbert Anderson – The Fighting 69th
Dana Andrews – Lucky Cisco Kid
John Banner – Spring Parade
Anne Baxter – 20 Mule Team
William Bendix – They Drive by Night
Joe Besser – Hot Steel
Whit Bissell – The Sea Hawk
David Bruce – The Sea Hawk
Anthony Caruso – Johnny Apollo
Ken Christy – Foreign Correspondent
Abbott and Costello – One Night in the Tropics
Donald Curtis – Emergency Squad
Helmut Dantine – Escape
Brad Dexter – The Mortal Storm
Tom Drake – The Mortal Storm
Connie Gilchrist – Hullabaloo
Hugh Griffith – Night Train to Munich
Margaret Hayes – The Man Who Talked Too Much
Eva Henning – Gentleman att hyra
Van Johnson – Too Many Girls
Arthur Kennedy – City for Conquest
Deborah Kerr – Contraband
Karl Malden – They Knew What They Wanted
Lynn Merrick – 'Til We Meet Again
Terry Moore – Maryland
Milo O'Shea – Contraband
Rebel Randall – Turnabout
Donna Reed – Convicted Woman
Herbert Rudley – Abe Lincoln in Illinois
Robert Ryan – The Ghost Breakers
Phil Silvers – Hit Parade of 1941
Gale Storm – Tom Brown's School Days
Gene Tierney – The Return of Frank James
David Tomlinson – Garrison Follies
Forrest Tucker – The Westerner
James Westerfield – The Howards of Virginia
Gig Young – Misbehaving Husbands

References

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External links

Template:1940 films

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